Choosing and Evaluating Primary Schools

[jedamum]

Distance is not an issue if you intend to engage school bus service.

but what others said about CCAs and occasions when buses are not available, that will be a headache.
ds1 is in a school 1-2km from home. everyday sending him by car is a breeze for me, but fetching him home by bus (with only 1 bus service to our place; sometimes can miss up to 2 buses due to overcrowding) is madness; hot sun, packed like sardines etc. today took 45min before we reached home (dismissal time 1.30pm, by the time ds1 came out 1.45pm, reached home 2.30pm; cos ds1 was came out 5min later than usual, we missed the bus which came every 10-15min block); the number of bus stops from school to home = 6 stops. :faint:

[jtoh]

45 mins for 6 bus stops. faint! Might be better idea to feed him lunch in canteen and take a later bus home.

[jedamum]

jtoh:

45 mins for 6 bus stops. faint! Might be better idea to feed him lunch in canteen and take a later bus home.

jtoh,
45min include waiting time. can :frustrated: when waited 10min and then came a packed bus. Once a week, have religious prayers, so bus very pack during school dismissal time. Luckily i drive ds1 to school. As the bus goes a loop round the neighbourhood, the nearest bus-stop ('end' of the loop) will have difficult boarding, while the other nearest bus-stop ('start' of the loop) means more stops ahead. On occasions when we need to take bus to school, we would leave the house at 6.45am to wait and take the 'loop' bus; reached school 7.25am, 5 min before bell ring. :stupid:
cannot feed him lunch in school cos ds2 reaching home via sch bus around 1hr 15min after ds1 dismissal.
sorry..OT already. :oops:

[afiqa.042858z]

I personally think that irregardless of whether the school is popular or less popular, top ten schools or what not, it really depends on how parents like us help our kids when it comes to schoolwork and stuff. Busy or not, very child can and will succeed if parent(s) are there for support. make them like school- if school’s too far the kid will dread going to school and starts hating the thought of it. pressurizing a kid to go to a ‘popular’ school at a young age where everything becomes a competition will either make or break the kid. If the kid ‘buey tahan’ the pressure, no point sending him to the ‘best’ schools in singapore. If sent to a ‘less popular’ school, near home, can enjoy CCAs and make friends and work at a pace where studying is not seen as a competition, if the kid is smart, he’d outshine others. won’t that be better? he’d prolly even be the top student in his school.


i just think parents shouldn’t start stressing about placing a child in a ‘popular’ school when the kid is so young.

[afiqa.042858z]

jedamum:

Distance is not an issue if you intend to engage school bus service.

but what others said about CCAs and occasions when buses are not available, that will be a headache.
ds1 is in a school 1-2km from home. everyday sending him by car is a breeze for me, but fetching him home by bus (with only 1 bus service to our place; sometimes can miss up to 2 buses due to overcrowding) is madness; hot sun, packed like sardines etc. today took 45min before we reached home (dismissal time 1.30pm, by the time ds1 came out 1.45pm, reached home 2.30pm; cos ds1 was came out 5min later than usual, we missed the bus which came every 10-15min block); the number of bus stops from school to home = 6 stops. :faint:

this issue must bring up to ministry of transport already. bring in a steady stream of feeder buses during school peak hours! less cars driving means lesser carbon footprint. we can help save the earth along the way!

we can also teach our younger generation that the earth is dying and we need to help. we can walk to and from school, cycle (if buses take too long) or tolerate the hot and and packed bus rides, all at for a greater cause.

[Fur-ma]

jedamum:

45min include waiting time. can :frustrated: when waited 10min and then came a packed bus. Once a week, have religious prayers, so bus very pack during school dismissal time. Luckily i drive ds1 to school. As the bus goes a loop round the neighbourhood, the nearest bus-stop ('end' of the loop) will have difficult boarding, while the other nearest bus-stop ('start' of the loop) means more stops ahead. On occasions when we need to take bus to school, we would leave the house at 6.45am to wait and take the 'loop' bus; reached school 7.25am, 5 min before bell ring. :stupid:

I think I know which bus u r referring to. Can ur ds walk to the bus interchange to take that bus?

[jedamum]

Fur-ma:

jedamum:

45min include waiting time. can :frustrated: when waited 10min and then came a packed bus. Once a week, have religious prayers, so bus very pack during school dismissal time. Luckily i drive ds1 to school. As the bus goes a loop round the neighbourhood, the nearest bus-stop ('end' of the loop) will have difficult boarding, while the other nearest bus-stop ('start' of the loop) means more stops ahead. On occasions when we need to take bus to school, we would leave the house at 6.45am to wait and take the 'loop' bus; reached school 7.25am, 5 min before bell ring. :stupid:

I think I know which bus u r referring to. Can ur ds walk to the bus interchange to take that bus?

haha...yes he definitely can; i think some of the people are doing that. can also take the other direction bus back to the terminal to take a bus out. lolz. but with the hot sun and heavy bag, squeeze like sardines for that few stops ah! my son starting CCA soon, so Friday dismissal won't be such a nightmare anymore.

[LeeTaiTai]

jedamum:

Distance is not an issue if you intend to engage school bus service.

but what others said about CCAs and occasions when buses are not available, that will be a headache.
ds1 is in a school 1-2km from home. everyday sending him by car is a breeze for me, but fetching him home by bus (with only 1 bus service to our place; sometimes can miss up to 2 buses due to overcrowding) is madness; hot sun, packed like sardines etc. today took 45min before we reached home (dismissal time 1.30pm, by the time ds1 came out 1.45pm, reached home 2.30pm; cos ds1 was came out 5min later than usual, we missed the bus which came every 10-15min block); the number of bus stops from school to home = 6 stops. :faint:

Sigh , talking about distance , I stay in Jurong and my girls future school may be in Bukit Timah (2A), I drag to think about the travelling and the traffic jams . That's why thinking about doing PV to enrol her in Jurong school under 2B but if I don get it , no Plan C already as Jurong 's good school also competitive.

[wangyang86]

afiqa.z:

Speaking from personal experience travelling by car (most times going public)...

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience with us.
I worry my daughter would face the same delima if I agreed with my wife to register my daughter to Pei Hwa (about 50 mins by bus from my home) in phase 2B . I worried it is so far for my daughter even though she takes the school bus, and I worried more she might feel difficult to make friends with other children living nearby because they are not schoolmate / classmate. Your post gives me a real example.
I have registerd my daughter to Qifa (less than 15 mins from my home) at phase 2A2.

[RRMummy]

wangyang86:

afiqa.z:

Speaking from personal experience travelling by car (most times going public)...

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience with us.
I worry my daughter would face the same delima if I agreed with my wife to register my daughter to Pei Hwa (about 50 mins by bus from my home) in phase 2B . I worried it is so far for my daughter even though she takes the school bus, and I worried more she might feel difficult to make friends with other children living nearby because they are not schoolmate / classmate. Your post gives me a real example.
I have registerd my daughter to Qifa (less than 15 mins from my home) at phase 2A2.

Many parents aiming for Pei Hwa will thank you for making the competition one less competitive